Bolden on his big day in Ann Arbor

Christopher Smith

04/29/2011

The four star Cincinnati (OH) Colerain linebacker made his final decision today on an impromptu visit to Ann Arbor. He caught up with GoBlueWolverine this afternoon to talk about his commitment, what it came down to, and how he let Brady Hoke know he was joining the fold.

Joe Bolden had been openly favoring Michigan for some time, and a decision could have been coming at any time. The 6'3" 230 pound linebacker finally pulled the trigger this afternoon on an impromptu trip to Ann Arbor.

"My whole family and I all decided to go up today. And it really just came down to the coaches and how I interacted with them -- and obviously I interacted with them well," Bolden explained to GoBlueWolverine. "They were excited. I kind of led Coach Hoke into it… we were all sitting down, my family and Coach Hoke. And I didn't come out and say exactly what it meant that I was saying, but he figured it out -- and I said it then. My family is important to me and they all seem really happy and excited."

Bolden was playing coy in Coach Hoke's office before he eventually figured it out with some pointed comments.

"Well there is Brandin Hawthorne right now, and he wears the number seven -- and that's the number I've always worn in football -- and he plays linebacker this year as well. So I kind of led him into that, and that he's going to need a new linebacker next year and he's going to have to find me a spot on the field next year with the defense, so that I can wear number seven."

Growing up in the Buckeye State, it's no secret who the top dog is in the state, and Bolden wasn't any different.

"I'm not going to lie to you, I did watch Ohio State growing up, but I can't … I don't have too strong of feelings for them, if any."

Growing up following the Buckeyes until making his Wolverine pledge officially today, Bolden owned nothing in Maize and Blue. That quickly changed.

"I didn't own anything before I made the trip today -- and on the way back, I picked up a few shirts."

Now completely in the fold, Bolden will focus on preparing for Michigan and, first, his senior season.

"We're still lifting for our team and I've got my senior year at Colerain coming up, and that comes before college -- so they are really the number one priority right now. I'm not going to look past my senior year."

Having a friend in fellow Michigan commit, Caleb Stacey, also helped a little bit, but that wasn't even close to being the determining factor for Bolden on becoming a Wolverine.

"I did talk to him, but to me the decision I made, you could have anyone come talk to me, it could even be Barack Obama telling me to choose 'this school because of that', but at the end of the day, they don't have any impact on my decision. My decision is based on how I felt about the program and how my family feels about the program -- and that's how I made it."

Bolden also plans to be like Stacey and do a little recruiting, but won't be overwhelming.

"I plan on doing a little bit, because obviously I want our class to be the best. But I won't worry too much about other people outside of myself and what I need to get done."

Finally for Bolden, will be the possibility of a camp visit to Ann Arbor, as well as making a few more trips back north.

"This summer my position coach at Colerain has talked about working the Michigan camp -- and if he does that, I'll probably go up there with him to the camp. Right now, I feel as comfortable as you can get with Ann Arbor, and it helped my decision, but I'll still try to get up there as much as I can."
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